Our Verdict
Available to those whose credit rating may have wandered away from excellent but hasn’t gone below average, the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards offers hard-to-believe rewards on eligible travel purchases in exchange for a $95 annual fee. Though its additional benefits aren’t spectacular, its rewards potential outearns many of the best travel rewards cards.
Pros
- No foreign transaction fees
- High reward potential
- Issuer advertises requiring an average minimum credit rating
Cons
- $95 annual fee
- No low introductory APR period
- High 29.49%* Variable APR
Current Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards Card Offer
- 5X points on eligible dining, gas, and travel purchases
- 1X points on all other purchases
- 10X points on eligible hotel and car rentals booked using the Credit One Bank travel partner
- Rent a car at Avis, Hertz, or SIXT and receive exclusive Amex Card member discounts, complimentary upgrades, and more*
- No Foreign Transaction Fee
- There’s no limit to the number of points earned
- Points may be redeemed for statement credit, gift cards, travel, and more
- If you are a Covered Borrower under the Military Lending Act, you may get a different offer
- Terms Apply*
Alternatives to the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards
Table of Contents
- Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Introduction
- Quick Facts
- What Is the Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Best For?
- Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Rewards
- Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Benefits
- Fine Print
- How the Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Stacks Up
- Is the Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card for You?
- Methodology
Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Introduction
The Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards earns 10 points per dollar on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through the Credit One Bank travel partner, 5 points per dollar on eligible travel including flights, dining and gas and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Rewards can be redeemed for statement credits at 1 cent per point. Other redemption options exist, though rates may vary.
Wanderlust-worthy? Perhaps, but there’s at least one major catch. The card charges a $95 annual fee. Those who veer too far off the path and forget about due dates or paying in full and on time should stay put, as the card’s 29.49%* Variable APR on purchases will make carrying a balance costly.
One strong advantage of this card is its advertised minimum requirement of average credit. Many cards offering excellent reward rates limit offerings to those with good or better credit, so for some, the $95 annual fee may be worth paying to unlock access to enhanced rewards on the journey to better credit.
For those with subprime credit, we advise taking care not to be fooled by flashy rewards. If you aren’t ready to practice responsible spending habits—including paying bills on time, every time—the interest charged to carry a balance will wipe out any rewards.
Quick Facts
- $95 annual fee
- Earn 10 points per dollar on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through the Credit One Bank travel partner, 5 points per dollar on eligible travel including flights, dining and gas and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
- This card does not offer a welcome bonus.
- Convenience benefits and customization
- Average minimum credit rating requirement
What Is the Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Best For?
The Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards is best for someone with less-than-excellent credit and who spends a healthy portion of the budget on travel. If a $95 annual fee is manageable and you don’t carry a balance, this can be a beneficial travel rewards card option.
Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Rewards
Earning Rewards
The Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards earns 10 points per dollar on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through the Credit One Bank travel partner, 5 points per dollar on eligible travel including flights, dining and gas and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Reward points don’t expire as long as the account remains open and in good standing. Points are forfeited 90 days after the closure of an account. There are no limits to how many points you can earn.
Hotels and rental cars booked as a package only earn 5 points per dollar instead of the higher rate.
Redeeming Rewards
Reward points earned with the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards may be redeemed for cash back in the form of a statement credit, merchandise, gift cards or travel.
Redemption by statement credit must be done in increments of 1,000 points. When redeemed for cash back in the form of a statement credit, points are worth 1 cent each, meaning a 1,000-point redemption is worth a $10 statement credit. Redemptions for statement credit don’t count as payments of any kind and may not be substituted for a required minimum payment.
Other redemption values vary and may be calculated at the time of redemption, as they’re subject to change.
Rewards Potential
To determine the rewards potential of the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards, we consider what the average household might spend on a credit card each year. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies to determine baseline income and spending averages across multiple categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households brings in $118,438 annually and has $39,337 in annual expenses that can be reasonably charged to a credit card. We base spending on that number.
Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards Rewards Potential
| Category | Earning Rate | Estimated Annual Spend | Estimated Annual Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotels Through the Credit One Bank Travel Partner | 10X | $2,858 | 28,580 |
| Car Rentals Through the Credit One Bank Travel Partner | 10X | $791 | 7,910 |
| Airfare | 5X | $770 | 3,850 |
| Dining | 5X | $4,622 | 23,110 |
| Gas | 5X | $3,562 | 17,810 |
| All Other Purchases | 1X | $26,734 | 26,734 |
| Total: 107,994 points |
As this chart illustrates, the household could earn an estimated 107,994 points a year using the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards for an estimated cash value of $1,079.94.
Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Benefits
- Custom due dates. Pick your own monthly due date.
- Credit score access. Get no-extra-charge access to your credit score.
- Mobile and online banking. Cardholders get convenience with a click for alerts and account monitoring via phone or computer.
- Tap to pay. Cardholders can use chip-enabled cards to avoid inserting or swiping at the register.
- Zero liability protection. Cardholders aren’t responsible for unauthorized purchases.
- Travel and purchase protections. Coverage for accidents connected to eligible travel purchases made with the card. Also, get secondary car rental loss and damage waiver coverage and extended warranty coverage on purchases.
- Car rental discounts. Get up to 15% off rentals and free upgrades with Sixt, Hertz and Avis with enrollment, plus priority service and Platinum status with Sixt.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 29.49%* Variable
- Purchase intro APR: N/A
- Balance transfer intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual fee: $95
- Balance transfer fee: See Terms
- Foreign transaction fee: None
How the Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card Stacks Up
Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ranks among the best cards for travel, and for good reason: On top of a mountain of extra benefits, the card earns 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. Among them are primary auto collision damage coverage, purchase protection, extended warranty protection and baggage delay insurance. The Sapphire Preferred charges a $95 annual fee.
Thanks to the Sapphire Preferred’s ability to transfer rewards to various travel partners, Chase Ultimate Rewards® points have a more varied and potentially lucrative redemption value. Cardholders also get a 25% boost in points value if they use their points to book eligible travel through the Chase Travel portal.
Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards vs. Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns 2% cash rewards on purchases. The card’s flat-rate cash rewards mean no tracking categories and no extra hassle when remembering which card to use with different merchants.
For those who don’t travel or maintain varied purchasing patterns, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card can act as a catch-all to ensure an elevated reward rate on all purchases. But the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards is a better choice for anyone spending enough in its bonus categories each year—even with its annual fee. Evaluate your spending to determine which structure makes more sense for you.
Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is known in the credit card space as one of the top premium credit cards for travel rewards, and for good reason. It offers similar elevated travel rewards of 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases, 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel. But instead of the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards’s $95 annual fee, the Venture X charges a $395 annual fee (rates & fees). Despite the stark difference in fees, the Venture X card’s $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel can offset its annual fee enough to put it on level playing ground.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers a long list of travel and purchase benefits that can easily make the annual fee worthwhile for many. The Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards, meanwhile, offers a lower annual fee with similar travel rewards but none of those extra benefits.
Capital One Rewards are more valuable in terms of flexibility and redemption values. The major advantage the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards has on the Venture X is its lower credit rating requirement. While the Wander Card advertises itself as being accessible to those with average credit, the Venture X requires excellent credit.
Is the Credit One Bank Wander American Express Card for You?
Whether your credit score is below the excellent range or you simply don’t want to pay the high annual fee many top travel cards charge, there’s finally a destination. The Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards earns fantastic travel, dining and gas rewards at a fraction of the cost and without the complexity of a major travel rewards program. Its average minimum credit rating requirement and above-average rewards makes this card a true contender among the best travel rewards cards for beginners.
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Methodology
Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:
- Annual fees
- Welcome bonus offers
- Ongoing earning rates
- Value of individual rewards
- Included travel or merchant credits
- Additional cardholder benefits
Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors come together to provide a star rating for each individual card.
To learn more about our rating and review methodology and editorial process, check out our guide on how Forbes Advisor rates credit cards.
